ROMARIO FARIO AND VASCO DA GAMA

On October 24, 2007, it was announced that Romário would take charge of his first match as the interim manager of Vasco da Gama against Club América of Mexico in the return leg of their Copa Sudamericana quarter final and he would also participate on the field as a player. Romário, then 41 years of age, replaced Celso Roth as the manager of Vasco da Gama, and also played the match against Club América at the same time. The Vasco da Gama president Eurico Miranda declared to Globo Online that Romário would be in charge of the team for the match, but it is likely to only be temporarily. On February 6, Romario objected to Miranda's intervention in team selection, so was dismissed, but remained contracted to Vasco as a player.

On December 4, 2007, Romário announced he had tested positive for finasteride (aka Propecia) after a match against Palmeiras on October 28. He claims it was in an anti-baldness treatment; however, the drug is banned as it is a masking agent for anabolic steroids.

ROMARIO FARIA IN WORLD CUP 1994 USA

In 1992, during Romário's successful season at PSV Eindhoven, he was called to the national team for a friendly match against Germany at 12/16/1992 in Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira left Romário as a reserve, after which he expressed his dissatisfaction, saying he would not have come over from Netherlands if he had known he was not going to play. These declarations caused Parreira to ban Romário from the Brazilian team.

Brazil played the first seven matches of the 1994 World Cup qualification without Romário, and suffered their first loss ever in World Cup qualifying against Bolivia. Journalists and fans called for his return to the team. Brazil had to beat Uruguay at the Maracanã Stadium to finish first of their group. Before the match against Uruguay, Parreira gave up and called Romário. Brazil won 2-0, with Romário scoring both goals, and qualified to the World Cup.

At the World Cup finals, he partnered with Bebeto in the attack to lead his country to a record fourth World Cup title. He scored five goals in the tournament: one in each of the three first round matches, against Russia, Cameroon, and Sweden; one against the Netherlands in quarterfinals; and the game-winning header against Sweden in the semifinals. He also assisted Bebeto in the only goal of the match against the United States in the round of 16. He was voted the most outstanding player of the tournament.

VAN VERSIE STRIKES AGAIN

Eleven Gunners are heading to the World Cup and Arsenal.com will be tracking their progress every step of the way in our brand new World Cup section.

Between now and the start of the tournament on June 11 we will continue to bring you details of international friendlies involving Arsenal players. The Dutch conceded in the sixth minute when Balazs Dzsudzsak found the net for Hungary. The turnaround got underway in the 22nd minute when Van Persie curled a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

It was the fourth time he had scored for his country in their last three fixtures and it was another top-class finish from the 26-year-old.

Netherlands took the lead through Wesley Sneijder 11 minutes into the second half before Arjen Robben extended their advantage.

Three goals in eight minutes completed the rout at the Amsterdam ArenA. Mark van Bommel netted the first before Eljero Elia and Robben inflicted further torment on the visitors.

In three pre-World Cup international friendlies The Oranje have scored 12 goals. Their World Cup campaign gets underway on Monday, June 14 when they take on Denmark.

MIROSLAV KLOSE IN EURO 2008

On 6 September 2006, Klose scored two away goals against San Marino in a 13–0 Euro 2008 Qualifying win which took his international goal tally to 33, the same amount as his idol Fritz Walter and to joint 7th in the list of all-time goalscorers for Germany.

He had a goal drought for a long time with the national team, causing speculation that he may be dropped from the starting line-up. But German coach Joachim Löw has denied this.

Another highlight in Klose's career came on 8 September 2007, as he captained Germany for the first time and celebrated this honour by scoring both of his country's goals in a 2–0 victory over Wales. The next day, one of the headlines in the UEFA official website was “Captain Klose Takes Germany Closer (to qualifying).”

In the main tournament, Klose started the opening group game against Poland and assisted Lukas Podolski's two goals in a 2–0 victory. He played the remaining two group games against Croatia and Austria with no goals. He finally broke his duck during the knockout stages, scoring the second goal for Germany during both quarter final and semi-final against Portugal and Turkey. However he was unable to score during the final against Spain.

Domenech whittled his squad down

The 32-year-old Arsenal defender has been sidelined since aggravating a left calf injury on 31 March and was the first player to arrive at France's pre-finals training camp in the Alps on Saturday. He has been training individually with Les Bleus' physical trainer Robert Duverne and Domenech said he was enthused by his progress. Raymond Domenech revealed on Tuesday that his biggest concern surrounding the France squad prior to the beginning of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa was the fitness of centre-back William Gallas. Should Gallas fail to prove his fitness in time, one option available to Domenech would be to move Jeremy Toulalan from defensive midfield into central defence, where he has played with distinction for Lyon this season.

Domenech would only admit that it was "possible" that Toulalan could be asked to play in central defence in one of France's pre-tournament friendlies and used the same word when asked if playmaker Yoann Gourcuff could be deployed in a deeper midfield role in front of the defence. France's first friendly game against Costa Rica in Lens takes place on 26 May. Domenech added that Gallas was France's only injury concern but conceded that captain and talisman Thierry Henry was low on confidence after an underwhelming season at Barcelona. The Catalan giants retained the Spanish title on Sunday but Henry, 32, made just 15 starts in the league and scored only four goals.

The FIFA World Cup begins on 11 June. Domenech on Monday whittled his squad down to 24 players, having originally named a provisional squad of 30, but he will have to leave out another player before submitting his final 23-man squad to FIFA by 1 June.

THE WORLD CUP'S GOLDEN AND SILVER BALL

THE WORLD CUPS GOLDEN AND SILVER BALLER

1982 SPAIN : PAOLO ROSSI, FALCAO

1986 MEXICO : DIEGO MARADONA, HARALD SCHUMACHER

1990 ITALY : SALVATORE SCHILLACI, LOTHAR MATTHAUS

1994 USA : ROMARIO, ROBERTO BAGGIO

1998 FRANCE : RONALDO, DAVOR SUKAR

2002 KOREA/JAPAN : OLIVER KAHN, RONALDO

2006 GERMANY : ZINEDINE ZIDANE, FABIO CANNAVARO

ARSENAL : CURRENT COACHING STAFF

The Arsenal's coaching staff

MANAGER : ARSENE WENGER

ASSISTANT MANAGER : PAT RICE

FIRST TEAM COACH : BORO PRIMORAC

RESERVE TEAM COACH : NEIL BANFIELD

YOUTH TEAM COACH : STEVE BOULD

GOALKEEPING COACH : GERRY PEYTON

FITNESS COACH : TONY COLBERT

PHYSIOTHERAPIST : COLIN LEWIN

CLUB DOCTOR : GARY O'DRISCOLL

KIT MANAGER : VIC AKERS

CHIEF SCOUT : STEVE ROWLEY

HEAD OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT : LIAM BRADY

LASSANA DIARRA

Personal Identity Of Lassana Diarra

Full Name : Lassana Diarra

Date of Birth : March 10, 1985

Place of Birth : Paris, France

Height : 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1/2 in)

Playing position : Defensive Midfielder

Current Club : Real Madrid

Number : 10

Senior Career

2003-2005 : Le Havre

2005-2007 : Chelsea

2007-2008 : Arsenal

2008-2009 : Portsmouth

2009- : Real Madrid

National Team

2005-2006 : France U21

2007- : France

ARSENE WENGER pics

NETHERLAND'S MOST GOAL SCORED

The Netherland's footballer who have made most goals

1. Patrick Kluivert, 40 goals (1994-2004)
2. Dennis Bergkamp, 37 goals (1990-2000)
3. Faas Wilkes, 35, (1946-1961)
4. Abe Lenstra, 33, (1940-1959)
5. Johan Cruyf, 33, (1966-1977)
6. Ruud van Nistelrooy, 33, (1998- )
7. Beb Bakhuys, 28, (1928-1937)
8. Kick Smit, 26, (1935-1946)
9. Marco van Basten, 24, (1983-1992)

Mario Bolatti PROFILE

Mario Ariel Bolatti is an Argentine footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club Fiorentina and the Argentine national team. He was born February 17, 1985 in La Para, Cordoba, Argentine. He plays for Huracan for the Clausara 2009 upon recommendation from Porto teammate Lucho Gonzalez. On 18 January 2010 he was transfered to Serie A club Fiorentina.

Mexico completed their third win

Following wins over Senegal in Chicago and Angola in Houston, Mexico beat Chile in Mexico City thanks to Alberto Medina's 14th-minute goal. Mexico completed their third straight 1-0 win to keep their preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa on track. Any hopes Chile had of mounting a comeback effectively ended on the hour mark when Manuel Iturra was sent off just two minutes after coming on. Iturra was shown a straight red card for bringing down Andres Guardado from behind. Medina, who also scored the winner against Senegal after coming on as a substitute, received a pass from Cuauhtemoc Blanco on the edge of the box before firing home a left-foot shot.

WORLD CUP 1982 picture

MARADONA and HIS SQUADS

Fortunately for Maradona, leading at world level is only made more difficult when a manager tries to impose a model and he is with best suited for this work as all he has to do is get these talented squads to play at their best.
30 man players for Argentina is viewed below.

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon).

Defenders: Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Burdisso (Roma), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Ariel Garce (Colon), Juan Insaurralde (Newell's Old Boys), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes).

Midfielders: Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Jose Sosa (Estudiantes), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Javier Pastore (Palermo), Sebastian Blanco (Lanus), Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool), Juan Mercier (Argentinos), Jesus Datolo (Olympiakos), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina).

Strikers: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli).

FRANZ BECKENBAUER profile

He redefined the role of defender, listed the FIFA World Cup as captain in 1974, before feating back as a manager in 1990. He made his debut for Bayern Muenchen on the left wing, against FC St. Pauli on 6 June 1964. In only his first season in the local league, he handed the club achieve promotion to the Bundesliga. Franz celebrated his first International cup on 26 September 1965, aged 20, and went on to match in three FIFA World Cups. His second match in Mexico in 1970, was also memorable as he played in the semi-final against Italy with a displaced shoulder, carrying his injured arm in a sling. 1970 was a magnificient match. The fans were fanatical and stadium security wasn't quite so periodically in those days. The games in Mexico were colourul. The country laughed and football danced.
In 1974, he came as Beckenbauer's finest hour. He was playing in the position he reformated, as a libero behind the defence. He ruled the team from the back. It was in his usual habit to go forward, he could not stop himself. After their victory against the Netherlands, Beckenbauer became the first captain to lift the brand new FIFA World Cup trophy after Brazil had retained the Jules Rimet trophy in 1970.
He left Munich he had won every major honour with Bayern Munich.
Since he was playing his trade abroad, he was no longer considered for selestion by West Germany. In 1982, after the failure of Jupp Derwall at that year's UEFA European Championship, Beckenbauer was installed as West Germany's national team head coach. Winning the trophy as coach remains the pinnacle of Franz Beckenbauer's football career.

LOTHAR MATTHAUS

Lothar Herbert Matthaus is a German former footballer and now manajer, last managing Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. He was born 21 March 1961 in Erlangen, West Germany.
He won Euro 1980, and played in Euro 84, Euro 88, and Euro 1992. Maradona said about Matthaus, "he is very best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him" in his book Yo soy el Diego (I am the Diego).
Internationally, he won Euro 80 and also played 2 games at the 1982 World Cup, where West Germany reached the Final, losing to Italy 3-1. His immediate success in Serie A was a precursor to the national team which finally managed to triumph at the 1990 World Cup held In Italy. At the 1994 World Cup hosted by USA, he captained the team but now operated as sweeper. He scored a penalty in the quarter-finals, which was also his record tying 21st match, but the Bulgarians scored twice in three minutes to upset to defending champions. In his absent Germany won Euro 96 which was hosted by England. He became the second and tothis day he last player to appear on 5 different WorldCups, trying the record of Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal, and also setting a new record for World Cup game appearances with 22. His last official match for Bayern took place in Munich on 8 March 2000 and was a Champions League match against Real Madrid, which Bayern won 4-1.
His first job head coaching experience was at Rapid Vienna. On saturday 13 December 2003, right after finishing the final league match of the half season (0-1 win away at FK Zeleznik) before the winter break, Matthaus abruptly resigned his post at Partizan by addressing the players and club leadership in private. He apparently told them that he's doing so for personal reasons. Then the rumours proved true as he officially signed the contract in Budapest and also got introduced to the media gathered at the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus.
It became known on that occasion that his initial contract with Partizan that was finalized on 1 January 2003 included a base guaranteed part as well additional premium clauses giving him etween 5-10% from players transfers and shirt sponsorships (as well as champions League Bonus incentives).
After being drawn in a tough group with Sweden, Croatia and Bulgaria that goal locked increasingly difficult. Such improbable scenario failed to materialize and they ended up in fourth place with 14 points from 10 matches, well behind Croatia and Sweden who earned 25 and 24 points, respectively. The club even posted the bill on their website.
On 19 May 2006, only 2 months following the bizzare Brazilian episode, Matthaus was announced as coach of Red Bull Salzburg (formerly Austria Salzburg) for the upcoming 2006-07 season.
On 13 april 2008, it was announced that Matthaus signed with Israeli side Maccabi to coach the club from the beginning of the 2008-09 season. Matthaus said German clubs perceived him as being too much of a Bayern supporter and too closely linked with the influental Bild tabloid newspaper to give him a job.
His marriage ended in 1999. He then marry again, the ceremony was held in Las Vegas.

JOHN TERRY SCAN NEWS

The Chelsea Football Associate can confirm today's 12 May 2010 scan on John Terry's leg performed no breaks. As John's statement said, he expects to return to training tomorrow or Friday and play in the FA Cup Final on Saturday. He took a knock in training earlier today and went to hospital for a precaution scan on his right foot.

INTER KICK OFF SIENA PREPARATIONS

The Nerazzurri reported back for training this afternoon after two days break following their 4-3 victory over Chievo. Jose Mourinho's player kicked off their preparations for Sunday's final match of the Serie A season away to Siena with a 60-minute training session consisting of warm-up exercises, ball possession drills and tactical practice matches. Lucio and Wesley Sneijder were back in full training, While Ivan Ramiro Cordoba and Davide Santon trained aside.

WORLD CUP 2006 GERMANY

TEAM : 32
WHEN : 9 JUNE 2006 TO 9 JULY 2006
MATCHES : 64
GOALS SCORED : 147
--------------------------------------------
WINNER : ITALY
RUNNERS-UP : FRANCE
THIRD : GERMANY
FOURTH : PORTUGAL
ADIDAS GOLDEN BALL : ZINEDINE ZIDANE (FRANCE)
ADIDAS GOLDEN SHOE : MIROSLAV KLOSE (GERMANY)
THE BEST GOALKEEPER : GIANLUIGI BUFFON (ITALY)
BEST YOUNG PLAYER : LUKAS PODOLSKI (GERMANY)
FIFA FAIR PLAY AWARD : SPAIN, BRAZIL
THE MOST ENTERTAINING TEAM : PORTUGAL
--------------------------------------------
Italy won their fourth world crown in Germany, againsting France on penalties in Berlin. If Zinedine Zidane's red card was the end's defining image, Italy's triumph would be remembered as a team effort with ten different Azzuri players finding the net. It was also a special month for Germany, the goals of Miroslav Klose helping secure third place in a tournament memorable for the festival mood across the host country.

ANDREAS BREHME biography

Andreas Brehme born 9 November 1960 in Hamburg, he is a German football coach and former football defender. He is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina on a 85th minute penalty kick. Brehme began his career with the local side HSV Barmbeck-Uhlenhorst.
With his height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), he played Left back, Left Wing-back, Left Midfielder. This below is about his senior club football career,
1981-1986 : FC Kaiserslautern
1986-1988 : Bayern Munich
1988-1992 : Inter Milan
1992-1993 : Real Zaragoza
1993-1998 : FC Kaiserslautern

His National Team debut,
1980-1981 : West Germany U21
1981-1984 : West Germany Olympic Team
1984-1994 : Germany

Teams Managed
2000-2002 : FC Kaiserslautern
2004-2005 : SpVgg Unterhaching
2005-2008 : VfB Stuttgart (Assistant)

WORLD CUP USA 1994

TEAMS : 24
WHEN : 17 JUNE 1994 TO 17 JULY 1994
FINAL : 17 JULY 1994
MATCHES : 32
GOALS SCORED : 141
------------------------------------
WINNER : BRAZIL
RUNNERS-UP : ITALY
THIRD : SWEDEN
FOURTH : BULGARIA
------------------------------------
ADIDAS GOLDEN BALL : ROMARIO (BRAZIL)
ADIDAS GOLDEN SHOE : OLEG SALENKO (RUSSIA), HRISTO STOICHKOV (BULGARIA)
YASHIN AWARD THE BEST GOALKEEPER: MICHEL PREUDHOMME (BELGIUM)
FIFA FAIRPLAY AWARD : BRAZIL
THE MOST ENTERTAINING TEAM : BRAZIL
------------------------------------
The United States staged a hugely successful 15th FIFA WorldCup that became the best attended in history and finished with Brazil celebrating their first world title since 1970. Forwards Romario and Bebeto were the Brazilians star performances while Roberto Baggio shone equally brightly for Italy despite his penalty miss thet concluded the first ever Final shoot-out. While sweden finished third, the undoubted surprise package were their fellow semi-finalists Bulgaria.

KAKA

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, commonly known as Kaka, born 22 April 1982, is a Brazilian football player who currently plays for Real Madrid and the Brazilian National Team. He began his footballing at the age of eight, when he started matching for a local club. By then, he also played tennis, and it wasn't until he moved on to Sao Paulo and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of fifteen that he choose to still live on football. In 2003 he joined AC Milan for a free of 8.5 Million Euro. While at Milan, Kaka won the Balloon d'or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007. In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaka is known for his sociality work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the United Nation's World Food Programme.

Kaka signed a contract at fifteen and led the Sao Paulo youth squad to Copa de Juvenil glory. 2005-2006 viewed Kaka score his first hat-tricks in domestic competition. On 9 April 2006, he scored his first Rossoneri hat-trick against Chievo, all 3 goals were scored in the second half, that's time where he joined AC Milan. Andriy Sevchenko's departure to Chelsea for the 2006/07 season allowed Kaka to become the focal point of Milan's offense as he alternated between the midfield and striker positions. Kaka added the Champions League tittle to his trophy case for the first time. He signed a contract extension through 2013 with Milan on February 29, 2008.

Kaka initially responded by telling reporters he wanted to grow old at Milan and dreamed of captaining the club one day.On 8 June, Milan and real Madrid confirmed Kaka has moved to the Bernabeu on a six year deal.

Kaka started in his first FIFA World Cup finals in 2006 and scored his first and only goal of the match in Brazil's 1-0 victory over Croatia in Brazil's opener, for which he was named Man of the Match. Kaka is a member of the Organization Atletas de Cristo (Athletes of Christ). Kaka's favourite music is gospel, and his favourite book is the Bible. Kaka is a follower of the evangelical Rebirth in Christ Church. He was sworn in as an Italian citizen on 12 February 2007. Kaka's best friend is Chivas USA midfielder and fellow Brazillian Marcelo Saragosa.

GIANLUIGI BUFFON

Date Of birth : 28 January 1978

Place of Birth : Carrara, Italy

Height : 1,91 m (6 ft 3 in)

playing position: Goalkeeper

Current Club : Juventus FC

Club Career : Parma FC, Juventus FC

INTERNATIONAL CAREER

World Cup 1998, 2002, 2006

Euro 2000, 2004, 2008

1996 Summer Olympics

ROBIN VAN PERSIE

Robin van Persie born 6 August 1983, is a Dutch football player who plays for Arsenal for whom he is vice-captain and the Netherlands national team as a striker. In the national team he is occasionally deployed as a left/right winger as well. The son of 2 artists, Van Persie was encourage to follow in his parents footsteps. But he instead preferred football and joined SBV Excelsior's youth player. Disagreements with coach Bert van Marwijk culminated in a change of club and Van Persie moved to Premier League part Arsenal for 2.75 million PS in 2004. He assisted with the Netherlands qualification for the 2010 World Cup. He was frequently encouraged to become involved in the arts like his parents, but he gravitated toward football instead. His attitude made it impossible for him in the squad any longer so he will join the reserve part for the time already. During the January transfer window, the Eredvisie club opened negotiations with Arsenal, who were finding a long-term replacement for aging veteran Dennis Bergkamp. Van Persie spent most of his time on the bench during earlier side of the 2004-05 season, and made his competitive debut on 27 october by scoring arsenal's opening goal 2-1 League Cup win over Manchester City. He was an unused substitute in arsenal's first Champions League Final appearance, a 2-1 loss to Barcelona. His season ended early for the second time in his career on 21 January, whwn he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot while celebrating his last equalizer in a game against Manchester United. Following a streak of 7 goals in 10 regular season matches, Van persie was partlined for 2 months with a knee injury suffered on International order. Van Persie opened his 2008-09 account on 31 August with brace in Arsenal's 3-0 league victory versus Newcastle United. On 24 February 2009, Van Persie scored an important penalty that earned Arsenal a 1-0 win against AS Roma in the Champions League round of 16 encounter, after he was fouled by defender Phillippe Mexes. The departure of Emmanuel Adebayor also meant that Dutchman was now the main striker in Wenger's 4-3-3 system. The jong Oranje failed to qualify for the 2004 tournament and Van persie didn't follow in the latter as he was already in the senior player for the world cup.

ARSENAL CHARITY BALL RAISES OVER 450,000 PS

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal first team squad, Barbara Windsor, Dermot O'Leary and Matt Lucas together with a host of other celebrities and special guest attended THE GUNNERS World ball in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity last night at Emirates stadium. An exclusive auction helped to raise 380,000 PS towards a new Arsenal Lung function Unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and with ticket sales plus other donations the evening raised over 450,000 PS. It was a fantastic event and to raise over 450,000 PS has helped Arsenal surpass their season's target for the wonderful charity. There was a free-kick lesson with Cesc Fabregas which sold 12,000 PS. The new Arsena lung function Unit will be designed to help newborn babies right through to forces and will provide a modern and spacious environment in which to help children and their families.

TOTTENHAM DESERVE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACE

Tottenham are in the Champions League on merit, according to Arsene Wenger. Arsenal's North London rivals wrote their spot in Europe's premier club competition for the first time ever with a midweek win over Manchester City. Spurs could yet pip Wenger's part to a place in The Champions League group stage if they win at Burnley on Sunday and Arsenal lose at home to Fulham. But at the very least they will form a qualifier in august and Wenger believes tottenham are worthy of their place among Europe's elite.

AOGO AND BADSTUBER COME FOR GERMANY

Hamburg defender Dennis Aogo and Bayern Munich youngster Holder Badstuber were surprise names in Germany coach Joachim Low's provisional 27-squads for the 2010 FIFA World Cup which was announced yesterdays.

WAYNE ROONEY IS READY

England legend Alan sheare is convinced Wayne Rooney will carry the burden of FIFA World Cup hoppy being heaped on his shoulders. Rooney has been awesome. Even the so-called weak link of his match, forming, has improved beyond all recognition-something for which Shearer has particular admiration. He has rised his match this season. In previous years the accusation has been that Wayne is a magnificient team player but has done too much work. Rooney has played on the greatest stage for Manchester United and is now delivering on a regular basis with England. Although Brazil and Spains are the favourites, Rooney doesn't discount England's chances-even if a few things will have to go their road before they can be crowned kings of the world.  Many teams that wins a major match needs luck, but if all they squads are fit and playing well, England have a very good chance.

AC MILAN VS FIORENTINA

It will be Mr. Carmine Russo of Avellino who will lead the upcoming league match AC Milan VS Fiorentina. His assistants will be Riccardo Bianchi and Fabio Vicinanza, the fourth man will be Massimiliano Velotto.

WORLD CUP 1998: ARGENTINA VS ENGLAND

In the first meeting between Argentina and England since their infamous match at the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico, in which Diego Maradona scored with his HAND OF GOD and then with one of the most breathtaking goals in history, pre match feelings were running high. As the English football magazine FourFourtwo recently reknown, adidas launched an advert on the day of the game with a photo of David Beckham, with the caption: AFTER TONIGHT, ENGLAND VS ARGENTINA WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR WHAT A PLAYER DID WITH HIS FEET. National pride and place in the quarter finals against the Netherlands in Marseille's Velodrome were on offer. Glenn Hoddle's part answered well to conceding and seed themselves level just four minutes next. After shrugging off the attentions of Jose Chamot, he avoided the challenge of Roberto Ayala before firing a precise drive into the far corner of Carlo Roa's goal. Tackled from behind by Simeone, Beckham fell forward and, as he lay on the turf, flicked out a boot at his adversary.  "There's so much hurt in there," said Hoodle, referring to his dressing room.

CARLOS VALDERRAMA

Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio was born September 2, 1961 in Santa Marta, Colombia, also called as El Pibe, is a playmaker Colombian Footballer. His mass of blond, permed hair made him one of Colombia's most recognisable football player. Valderrama captained the Colombia National Football team in the 1990s during the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups. Between 1985 til 1998 he represented Colombia in 111 full internationals and scored 11 times, making him the most capped player in the nation's story. He was the most known soccer player in Colombia in the team of Rene Higuita, Faustino Asprilla, Freddy Rincon, Adolfo Valencia, Leonel Alvarez, Andres Escobar and many others. Valderrama started his career at Union Magdalena of the Colombian First Division in 1981. Valderrama has since become assistant manager of Atletico Junior. In march 2010, Carlos Valderrama was inducted into the Dean Windass Hall of Fame on the popular London podcast, the Football Ramble.

RENE ADLER RETURNED TO TRAINING

The goalkeeper of Bayer Leverkusen Rene Adler returned back to training today, 10 days after suffering a broken rib.  It remains to be viewed whether the 25 years old will be strong enough for Saturday's clash with Hertha Berlin. Adler, who will be Germany's number one at the 2010 World Cup this summer, picked up the last in the recent 2-1 defeat to Stuttgart.

TF1 ANNOUNCED FRENCH SQUADS

Players expecting to be named in France's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa would be well advised to tune in to the main evening news on 11 May. The reason that is the time and place coach Raymond Domenech has chosen to reveal his squads at apress conference open to all media. France's FIFA World Cup campaign kicks off against Uruguay in Cape Town on 11 June, followed by Mexico in Polokwane on 17 June and hosts South Africa in Bloemfontain five days later.

WORLD CUP RULES HISTORY

The system of red and yellow cards is introduced for the 1970 FIFA World Cup finals (1970)

The offside law is changed in favour of the attacker, who is now onside if level with the penultimate defender (1990)

Goalkeepers are forbidden from handing back-passes (1992)

The technical area is introduced into the laws of the game, with the fourth official following the next year (1994)

Linesmen are renamed Assistant Referees (1996)

The Laws are revised (1997)

MOURINHO ON MONOLOGUE

The buzzword in Barcelona is remuntada and for Inter coach Jose Mourinho tha Catalan club is obsessed with reaching the Champions League final at Bernabeu, while for Inter, an appearance in Madrid on 22 May will signify the fulfilment of a dream.

"We have the dream of winning the Champions League and for Barcelona it's an obsession," said Mourinho in his pre match press monologue conference.

"I owe to Bobby Robson because he gave me the chance to work at Barcelona. I owe to the president at that time and to every person that worked in this club because they gave me a lot."

"I have no restaurant with anybody," responded Maurinho.

KAKA COMMENTED...

Kaka addressed the media at Valdebebas this morning. The player said he was happy with the goal he scored on Saturday. Kaka also believes Osasuna will be a tough team to beat.

"I am very happy with the goal I scored and for playing a decisive role in the match. Every game will be intense because there is something at stake for every team in the final stages of the championship. That's what makes Osasuna a dangerous side. We regard our match against them as a final. It will be an important and decisive game."

"We have great odds to win La Liga. This squad believes it can win the title. A one point cushion isn't much of a lead and we trust we can overtake it by winning our last four games."

WAYNE ROONEY LANDS PFA AWARD

Wayne Rooney has been named Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year-winning the prestigous award as voted for by his peers for the first time in his career. The 24 year-old beat fellow nominees Didier Drogba, Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Tevez and was presented with the trophy at Sunday night's ceremony.

BERBA DESERVES CREDIT

Sir Alex Ferguson trusts Dimitar Berbatov's contribution to United's vital win over Tottenham should not be overlooked. With Wayne Rooney missing with a groin injury, the Bulgarian led the line versus his old club and it was his fine run and flick which led to Patrice Evra being upended in the place for United's first penalty of the afternoon. Ryan Giggs and Nani grabbed the all-important goals for the Reds, but Ferguson was keen to highlight Berbatov's all-round watched.

SAN SIRO-THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN'S FOOTBALL

The san siro-or to give its official name, the Stadio Giusseppe Meazza-is the tiger home of two Italy's big football clubs, AC Milan and Internazionale. The San Siro staged three games as the world's leading teams congregated for a second time, starting with an exciting 3-2 triumph for Switzerland over the Netherlands.  yet sporting logic was turned on its head as, in front of 73,780 spectators, Francois Omam-Biyik's 67th-minute goal announced the true arrival of African football. It was here that the Germans saw off Yugoslavia (4-1), United Arab Emirates (5-1), Netherlands (2-1), Czechhoslovakia (1-0). Home to Milan since 1926 and to Inter since 1947, the San Siro is Italian football's finest stage.

AJAX AMSTERDAM VS PSV EINDHOVEN HISTORY

There was a time when Dutch football jointers discussing De Klassieker would have simply been citing the rivalry between Ajax and feyenoord, the illustrious clubs of the country's biggest cities, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Since the start of the Eredivisie in 1956, the record books tell of 106 matches between the two parts, with 46 wins for PSV, 40 for Ajax, and 20 draws. While Ajax have celebrated heavy 5-0 victories on two occasions, during the 1957/58 and 1964/65 seasons, and also triumphed 5-1 at  the pPhilips stadion in 2007, PSV have managed a pair of 6-2 successes, in 1975/76 and last term. Last season, Ajax swept apart their foes 4-1 at home before suffering that humbling 6-2 defeat away, meaning both will be eager for revenge in the current campaign. Belgian trainer Gerets explained that Ajax has always been a rival club. Gerets represented PSV as a player from 1985 to 1992 before taking over coaching duties between 1999 and 2002.  In july 2007, during the protracted transfer of Danish forward Kenneth Perez from Ajax to PSV, the latters sporting director, Jan Reker, launched a memorable tirade after growing impatient with the fee demanded by the capital outfit. Instead, their arch-rivals have taken over as the team most succesful at defending Dutch colours in Europe, having reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2005.

IOAN LUPESCU

Ioan Lupescu was and remains one of Romanian's best popular and most sustainable football players. The fighting midfielder rerised his country at 2 FIFA World Cup finals (1990 and 1994) and 2 UEFA EURO Championships (1996 and 2000). For him personally, World Cup 1990 Italy was the spring board to a career in the west. The Romanians excelled in the USA and fought their road through to the last eight.  That's was forgotten in Lupescu's mind.  He said that Germany is his second home. After finishing the Bundesliga for a second stint with his home town club, the midfielder went back on the way to Bursaspor in Turkey and Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. In the Bundesliga, he was impressed by Andreas Moeller.

DANIEL VAN BUYTEN STILL DOUBTFULL

Daniel van Buyten was well enough to use the fitness machines at the Sabener Strasse on Sunday, but the Belgian is still rated doubtfull for tuesday's Champions League semi final back away to Olympic Lyon. The turkey International, who missed the encounter in Gladbach with a groin strain, resumed the team training programme and is in contention for the trip to Lyon.